The Secrets Our Eyes Reveal
by RySenkari
Summary: Taking place between Book 2: Spirits and Book 3: Change, this story follows Korra and Asami as they are tasked with hunting down a group of wanted fugitives. What starts as a simple mission turns into a perilous situation that will teach them things about each other that they didn't know before... (Note: This story contains light kink.)


The Satomobile's engine hummed as Asami drove through the streets of Republic City with her friend, the Avatar Korra, in the passenger's seat. It had been several weeks since Unalaq's defeat at the hands of the Avatar, and the opening of the Spirit World portals and subsequent siege of Republic City had left lasting effects, from the incursion of spirits into portions of the city, to the large vines that overtook buildings and streets. Much had changed, though much had also stayed the same.

Asami and Korra's drive through the city that evening wasn't a recreational excursion, though the two young women were enjoying the feeling of the breeze as the Satomobile sped down a mostly empty thoroughfare. Korra had volunteered for a job by the city's police chief, Lin Beifong, and Asami had graciously offered not only to drive Korra to the job site, but to tag along as her partner.

"Thanks again for offering to help, Asami," said Korra, smiling as she glanced over at her friend. "You still sure you want to do this? I can probably take these guys on my own."

"It's okay, Korra, I'm glad to help," replied Asami. "Actually, I was thinking maybe we could've asked the boys to come along with us too."

"Mako and Bolin? Nah," Korra replied, waving her hand dismissively. "How long's it been since we've gone out on a mission together, just the two of us? It'll be a nice change of pace and I think those guys could use a break."

Asami slowed the Satomobile down as it reached the neighborhood where Korra had said the targets would be. The tall skyscrapers of Republic City yielded to smaller, older buildings, a few in varying states of disrepair. This was a fairly dangerous area of the city, one where the police patrolled far less often, and the thin vines that encroached on some of the buildings drove out many of the foolhardy residents who still remained.

"So who did Lin say we were going after again?" asked Asami, who'd been so eager to join Korra that she'd volunteered for the mission without listening all that closely to who the target was.

"There's a group of diehard Equalists holed up in this part of the city, and they've been coming out to assault benders. We're going to find their leader and take them down."

"...wait, did you say Equalists?" asked Asami, her eyebrow raised skeptically. "I'd have figured after Amon revealed himself as Noatak, the bloodbending fraud, that the movement sorta collapsed."

"Apparently there were some diehards who still believe in Amon's goals despite him being a bender. ...actually it's speculated that their leader is a woman who was obsessed with him."

"In love?"

"Yeah, pretty much," said Korra with a smirk and a shake of her head. "Crazy, right?"

"Well, love can make you act in some pretty weird ways..." replied Asami, a hint of a blush crossing her face as she remembered what she and Korra had both been through over their mutual relationships with Mako.

"Like you're not yourself?"

"Pretty much that."

Asami parked the Satomobile in front of a building that hadn't yet been touched by any spirit vines. It was a five story building with boarded up windows and no light coming from within. The building had a small chunk of the upper right corner missing, which Lin had indicated as the main factor identifying it as the structure where the Equalists were holed up. Korra and Asami got out of the car and gave each other a quick look before nodding their heads and approaching the front door.

"So we're just busting in the front then?" Asami asked.

"I don't see why not," replied Korra, before freezing the door's hinges and knocking it down. There was no one to greet them, so the two women quietly entered the building and up a short flight of stairs nearby.

The building was quiet, with no sign of movement or activity. The two made their way down a hall, stopping to check behind corners and quietly signaling one another. Asami had a shock baton at the ready, while Korra stood in a tentative fighting stance against a wall. A few seconds of waiting, then the two made their way forward. They cleared the entire second floor, then found some stairs and went up to the third. More sneaking, more waiting.

"Think we got a bad tip?" Korra whispered, somewhat impatiently. "Or should I try to draw them out?"

Asami opened her mouth to reply before the two heard footsteps coming from above them.

"The fourth floor," Asami whispered.

There were voices, too. It seemed that whoever was up above them hadn't heard the front door coming down. That would give the intruders the element of surprise.

Korra and Asami went up to the next floor and heard more voices, and closer at that. They slid around a corner and could see two men approaching, both of them clad in outfits that looked closer to what a group of street gangers would wear than a couple of Equalists. Their hastily cobbled together outfits were dark enough to blend in with the shadows of the dimly lit hallway, or to make them nearly invisible when jumping someone from an alley.

 _They're just common street thugs,_ thought Korra, unable to keep the smirk off her lips. She waved off Asami and emerged from around the corner. "Hi."

With a burst of airbending, the thugs were down. One of them tried to yell out for help, only to get a knee in the back from Asami that forced his face into the floor. Before he got another chance to cry out, he was swiftly silenced with tape across his lips, along with his partner, before the two were bound up with handcuffs and more tape and tossed into a side room together.

"Two down," said Asami quietly. Korra nodded, and she and Asami made their way deeper into the building. They could hear more voices, four total this time, and once again crouched in wait. The four targets came into view, two men, two women, all dressed in cobbled together uniforms like the ones worn by the men Korra and Asami had just jumped. The four thugs stood in the center of a large, open room with a balcony and a big staircase leading up to the top floor. "Korra, hold on..."

"Why?" she asked, ready to jump out and take down four more bad guys. "They'll be just as easy as the others."

"That room's out in the middle of a big open space. We don't know who might jump out at us if we start a fight in there..."

"Maybe we'll lure out the rest of them," said Korra, clearly itching for a fight. "If you're worried just stay back here, I'll be fine."

Korra ran out from behind the corner, ignoring Asami's protests and readying another blast of airbending. The four criminals quickly took defensive stances, only to be blown off their feet and onto their backs. One of them stood up and brandished a shock baton, only to have it kicked out of his hands by Korra, who punched him in the face before he could try to lunge for it.

"Give up or else!" said Korra, clenching her fists as she stood above her downed foes.

"We...won't be intimidated, not even by the Avatar!" shouted one of the female thugs, grabbing Korra's leg and opening her mouth to bite into it. Korra could see that the woman had metal points fitted onto her front teeth, and let out a yelp.

"Hey!" Korra shouted, barely able to kick the would-be biter off of her before a chunk would have been taken out of her ankle. "That's really messed up!"

"I'm coming over to help!" shouted Asami, only to be grabbed roughly from behind by a large assailant who'd emerged from a nearby door. "Get off me!" 

Asami skillfully flipped the thug over her head and onto his back, looking over her shoulder to see several more attackers coming at her, some of them brandishing weapons and shock batons. She ran to join Korra in the large room, just in time to see thugs pouring out of the rooms surrounding the balcony and leaping over it to join the fray.

"We've got lots of company," said Korra, using bursts of airbending and waterbending to keep the thugs away while she and Asami stood back to back and tried to figure out a plan.

"I can see that," Asami replied. "We're badly outnumbered...but we're better than all of these guys, right?"

"Right," said Korra, sweeping a big burst of flames out from her leg. The fire blast knocked down the ten thugs in front of her, while Asami leaped forward with her shock baton and took out three or four more thugs with just a few strikes. "Let's take them all down!"

Though vastly outnumbered, between Korra's bending and Asami's skills and weaponry, the two women had the ragtag criminals severely outmatched. There were two dozen criminals in all, but several of them were knocked unconscious quickly. Despite the clear advantage possessed by the two of them, it was still a hectic fight, and the entrance of a woman with a long black ponytail and an armored jumpsuit into the fray was either completely missed or completely ignored.

"Ugggh!" shouted Asami, feeling the weight of two burly men pinning her to the ground, holding her arms and preventing her from using her shock baton. "Korra...! A little help?!"

"Asami!" Korra rushed over to help her friend, only to feel a chain wrap itself around her ankle. "Ugh!" She blasted the chain with a burst of quickly frozen water, shattering it. She felt another thug wrap a metal wire around her neck, causing her to gasp and choke. She reached back and grabbed the woman holding the wire, knocking her away. "Asami, I'm coming!"

As Korra's arms flailed to push more of her attackers away and clear a path to Asami, she felt someone swiftly wrapping a thin leather bracelet around her left wrist. She reached back and took a swing at the person who'd done so. It was the ponytailed woman from before, who leapt to the side, barely avoiding getting clocked by Korra.

"Stay back!" shouted Korra, pointing her arms at the woman to shoot a fireball at her. Nothing happened. "Huh?"

The woman immediately took out a shock baton and jabbed Korra hard in the stomach. This was no ordinary shock baton. It was a powerful, high voltage, custom made weapon and it sent a jolt through Korra's body that caused her to double over in pain. Asami saw Korra take the shock and heard her cry out, and felt a burst of determination go through her. Summoning her strength, she was able to throw off one of the huge thugs and reach her own baton, which she used to zap the other thug and knock him away as well. Then she rushed toward Korra, only to find her path impeded by several more attackers.

The ponytailed woman tried to shock Korra again, but Korra reached up and grabbed her by the wrist before using her free arm to elbow her in the face. The woman gasped and recoiled, and Korra again tried to use her bending. Again, nothing happened.

"My bending's not working...!" Korra looked down at the leather band that had been placed on her wrist. She tried to remove it, but it wouldn't come off. "What...what did you put on me?"

The woman smirked and laughed.

"Now you're just like everyone else," said the woman in a gloating tone of voice, lunging at Korra with the shock baton again. Korra dodged and punched at the woman twice. The first blow missed, while the second slammed harmlessly into her padded shoulder armor, causing the Avatar to let out a gasp of pain and pull her hand back. "Not so easy winning a fair fight, is it?"

Asami could see that Korra was in trouble, but she was having problems of her own, as the thugs had largely left Korra to fight the woman, apparently their leader, alone while they surrounded Asami. Nine of them had been knocked out, but more than a dozen remained, and even with all her skills, Asami couldn't take on fifteen thugs at once. That didn't stop her from trying.

"Korra, what's wrong?" Asami shouted over to her friend as she dodged multiple blows from all directions. Her shock baton managed to take out two more of the attackers, but she was fighting a losing battle and she knew it.

"I can't bend...!"

"Actually, you _can_ bend...bend to my will!" said the woman, ducking under one of Korra's punches before hitting her across the chest with the shock baton. Korra cried out and flew back, her body tingling from the shocks. As she tried to stand back up, two of the thugs broke off from fighting Asami and held Korra down.

"Let...me...go!" screamed Korra. With her body having gone partially numb from the severe shock, she didn't have her full strength, and the thugs were able to keep her pinned as the woman came over with a sadistic smirk. "Asami...!"

Asami was being held down now, no longer able to fight back against the sheer numbers. Her shock baton lay useless across the room, and though she thrashed against her captors, she was helpless to assist her friend Korra...or herself.

"I knew sooner or later the Avatar would show up once we started attacking her fellow benders," said the woman, holding her baton in one hand and Korra's chin in the other. "This'll give us the perfect chance to test Hiroshi Sato's greatest experiment... how ironic that his traitorous daughter will be here to witness it."

The woman glared menacingly over at Asami, who ignored her and kept looking over at Korra, a deeply worried look on her face.

"Korra, what happened to your bending? What did they do to you? What mmmph...!" Asami was soon silenced by a rag of chloroform pressed over her nose and mouth by one of the thugs holding her. She kept fighting against it but soon, unconsciousness overtook her. "Nmmph...lmme...ghhmm...hnnh..."

"Let Asami go!" Korra shouted furiously through gritted teeth as she narrowed her eyes at the woman. "I mean it, let her go or I'll aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Korra felt the shock baton jabbing her right in the stomach, sending enough voltage through her body to render her completely numb...and then completely unconscious.

O-O-O

Korra awoke a couple of minutes after Asami did, and could hear her friend grunting just a few feet away as she blinked open her eyes and groaned from the dull pain still coursing through her body. Though the numbness of the shocks had worn off, Korra still found herself mostly unable to move...and it didn't take her long to figure out why.

She and Asami had been suspended some four feet above the ground, and both of them were tightly and skillfully bound with ropes made from some strange material that definitely didn't feel like the normal rope Korra was used to being tied up with. The two were bound in identical positions. Both of them had their arms tied behind their backs, crossed with one arm laid flat against the other with dozens of coils of rope around their wrists and forearms. These ropes were connected to strands of rope that went back to their ankles, which were bent upward so that the soles of their feet were pointed up and back. Their ankles were roped up tightly as well, forming a tight hogtie that kept their legs fairly immobile. Their shoes and socks had been removed, leaving the soles of their feet covered only by the bottoms of their stirrup pants. This was so their legs could be immobilized further by strong strands of string binding their big toes together, this string then tied to another suspension rope, reinforcing their suspension from the ceiling by adding to the two long strands of rope coming out from their wrist bindings. The two were in a large room somewhere in the basement of the building, and for the time being had been left alone. Korra's immediate reaction to her predicament was to struggle, but upon hearing the straining of her friend Asami, looked over to check on the condition of her friend.

"Asami...are you okay?"

Asami immediately stopped struggling, realizing that her friend had awoken. She looked over at Korra and quickly nodded, visually inspecting Korra to ensure that she wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine...apart from being really, really tightly tied up."

This was easily the most intricate binding that the two had ever been in. Most of their enemies opted to tie them up in much more simplistic ways, but this was highly complex and immobilizing. It was clear that their foes understood just what these two were capable of, even with Korra unable to bend, and responded accordingly.

"What's the deal with tying up our big toes...?" Korra said quizzically, blinking a bit as she looked back at her feet. "I mean...I can't do anything with my toes anyway...!"

"Um..." Asami tried not to blush as she recalled an experience from her past. "I was reading some book in the library...about, well...rope techniques..."

"Oh, for tying bad guys up?"

"Y...yeah...that's it..." Asami almost felt her entire face flushing now, hoping that Korra bought her explanation. "Anyway, I saw that sometimes when you tie somebody up, you tie up their big toes too. It's...um...well it's practical, it keeps their feet in place."

"I can see that..." said Korra, annoyance starting to creep back into her voice as she started to struggle again. She tried to use her bending, but she felt that accursed bracelet still restricting her bending under the ropes around her wrists. She swung herself back and forth, though the triple-anchored suspension kept her from being able to swing around too much. In fact, she could barely get halfway to where Asami was, only able to swing a couple feet from side to side, and only then if she really exerted herself. The hogtie and toe suspension kept her legs almost completely in place, and the ropes around her wrists weren't budging. They were also too strong to break since they weren't in fact normal ropes. They almost felt like they were made out of metal, though it was more flexible and soft than any metal Korra had ever felt before. "Asami, don't worry, I'll have us out of this before they hurt you...!"

"I'll try getting out too," said Asami, struggling against the tight ropes as well. She could feel beads of sweat accumulating on her face and the soles of her feet as she squirmed against her bindings, but the ropes had no slack whatsoever.

"I've got this...Asami...it's okay...!" Korra could feel the tightness of the ropes on her body and the dull pain in her shoulders and limbs as she strained. She felt her wrists starting to ache as well, and she didn't want Asami to feel any of the discomfort that she herself was feeling. _Asami, I got us into this, so let me get us out...! I don't want you getting hurt because you tagged along with me!_

Asami looked over at Korra, who was really fighting to escape the ropes. Her feet were flexing, her body was straining, her muscles were tightening...Korra was giving it everything she had, and Asami felt she had to give it her all as well.

"I can...do it Korra...!" Asami said in a strained voice as she kept flexing against the bindings, giving just as much effort as her friend was giving.

"Asami...!"

Korra's attempt to protest further was interrupted when the door to the room opened and the ponytailed woman who'd taken down Korra before entered, accompanied by two criminals, one man and one woman, clad in slightly less ornate armored clothing than their leader.

"You!" Korra shouted, turning her head away from Asami to stare down her captor. "What did you do to me?!"

"You can thank Hiroshi Sato for that little invention," said the woman, "though it was I who perfected it and put it to good use. Oh, I never gave you my name...it's Mokusho."

"It doesn't matter what your name is!" snapped Korra, lunging forward at Mokusho as much as the ropes would allow. "Now let us go or you'll really be sorry!"

"You're the ones who should be sorry, both of you!" Mokusho shouted back, shooting a glare of hatred at Asami. "You for betraying your brilliant father..."

She then turned to Korra with an even more hateful expression.

"And you for standing in Amon's way."

"My father was wrong to do what he did," said Asami, her expression mostly reflecting her anger at her and her friend's current captivity, but with a glint of sadness over her father's actions and imprisonment. "He waged a war on innocent benders..."

" _No_ benders are innocent," said Mokusho, pulling two green cloths from her pocket and walking over toward Korra.

"Are you even listening to yourself right now?! Amon WAS a bender...the worst kind of bender of all, a _blood_ bender! And he abused his bloodbending to-mmph...mmmphh! GGGRRRRMMMM!"

Korra's protests were suddenly cut off by Mokusho tightly wrapping one of the cloths over Korra's mouth. The thick and heavy cloth stifled Korra's speech as it was knotted behind her head. Korra continued to shout and protest as Mokusho then walked over to Asami, who glared but didn't try to protest any further, resigning herself to being gagged like Korra was.

"That's why Amon was truly heroic," said Mokusho as she gagged Asami with the other cloth as effectively as Korra had been. "He took what should have been the ultimate scourge and found a way to use it as a gift...to remove the curse of bending from this world. Unfortunately, only myself and a few of Amon's only truly loyal followers realized this. May his brother Tarrlok be tormented in the Spirit World for murdering him."

"Lmmmt mmms gmmm...LMMMT MMMS GMM! GRRRMMPH! Ymmm cmmmrzy psmmychompmff!"

Korra's muffled grunts and shouts, including a few muffled swears, brought only amusement to Mokusho and her two followers, who amused themselves for a moment watching the helpless Avatar struggle futilely. As Korra kept up her struggles and glared hard at her captors, Asami looked over at her with concern, wondering if there was any way her friend could get the two of them out of this without her bending.

"And your father was heroic as well," said Mokusho to Asami, who hadn't stopped glaring at her the entire time after having been gagged. "Using his own gifts of intelligence to invent ways to stop the bender scourge once and for all."

"Yrr wrmmphng," Asami said, her eyes following Mokusho as she paced back and forth. _My father was tormented by my mother's death...it made him do terrible things...unforgivable things... and you're wrong to idolize him!_

"Fortunately, even though Hiroshi Sato's 'daughter' didn't appreciate him, he had me, his apprentice, to follow in his footsteps."

 _Apprentice?_ thought Asami, her eyebrows raising in surprise. _I never even met you!_

"He taught me everything he knew... well, every _useful_ thing he knew. How to create weapons that could take down benders...and even neutralize their powers. That bracelet on the Avatar's wrist? That was one of his greatest inventions, the Bending Neutralizer. When Sato was arrested, it wasn't quite complete...we tested it on a few of the weaker benders we caught and it worked just fine. Then, after we captured Tenzin and his family-"

"GRRRMMPH!" Korra growled in protest, lunging at Mokusho again. The Equalists' capture of the Airbenders, especially the children, was still a sore spot for Korra, and she'd like nothing more than to put a fist in the face of any of the people responsible. _You heartless witch!_

"Don't interrupt me!" said Mokusho, grabbing Korra by the chin and squeezing her face tightly. "Now where was I? Oh yes. We tested the Bending Neutralizer on Ikki first. It worked on her, and then we tested it on Jinora...not only did it not work, but she nearly got herself and her family free before some of the other Equalists restrained her. So it was back to the drawing board...and after Amon was defeated and Sato was captured, I perfected the device. It works perfectly now...even on the Avatar."

Korra and Mokusho glared at one another for several seconds before Mokusho finally released her tight grip on the Avatar's chin.

"The Bending Neutralizer can only be removed with my key. But it's still a temporary fix. We always knew there was a chance Amon could be killed, and in order to replace him, we'd need a permanent solution. Sato had only just begun work on it before his capture, so it fell to me to finish his greatest work. And now, it's nearly complete. In fact, I had just begun putting the finishing touches on it when you and your friend showed up and we had to deal with you. It's a special chemical that will permanently remove any bender's bending...and when I say permanently, I mean it. Even the Avatar can't restore someone's bending once it's used...and since I intend the Avatar to be the first test subject, it won't even matter!"

Both Korra and Asami's eyes went wide at this news. Their captor possessed a chemical that could permanently erase someone's bending? For a moment, they were paralyzed with shock and fear. Then, Asami began to struggle, and harder than she'd been struggling at any point before.

 _I won't let that happen...I won't let you remove Korra's bending!_ Asami's entire body rocked and convulsed as she fought her bonds. She cried out into her gag as she strained, and Korra immediately tried to tell her to stop.

"Asmmmmphi, nmm!" Korra cried out, shaking her head. Mokusho just laughed at this, knowing neither one of her captives had any chance to escape.

"Don't even try fighting those ropes, they're made of a special metallic organic polymer material, also invented by Hiroshi Sato. He initially invented it as an unbendable metallic alternative to platinum to counteract the Metalbending cops, but it also turns out to be the strongest material ever created, invulnerable to strength or any forms of bending. You'll never escape."

"Mmmphh...wll smmm mmbmt thmmt!" Asami shouted, her fists clenched tightly as she continued fighting the ropes. "Grrrmmph...mmmggh...mmmffffnnnhh!"

"Oh, are you mad now?" asked Mokusho mockingly, walking over to Asami and putting a hand on her face.

"Dnnt tmmch mm!" Asami turned her head away quickly, shooting a fierce glare at Mokusho and offering up a few swear words of her own under her tight, stifling gag.

"Is it because you're tied up and helpless? Is it because you can't help your friend?" Mokusho smiled, leaning in. "Or is it because daddy finally found in me the daughter he never had in you?"

Asami didn't say anything to Mokusho. In fact, she calmed down, closing her eyes and bowing her head and turning it slightly away. Mokusho laughed, leaning forward even more. She saw Asami's eyes fluttering under her closed eyelids and waited for her to cry.

Instead, Asami lunged forward and headbutted Mokusho right in the face.

"OH!" Mokusho cried out, covering her face up with her hands while at the same time, her two thugs stepped forward, shock batons at the ready. Mokusho waved them off, still holding her nose in pain. "You bitch!"

Mokusho then stepped forward and backhanded Asami across the face as hard as she could. There was an audible slapping noise as her hand impacted Asami, and her head went back, but the thick cloth blunted the blow somewhat, and Asami didn't make a sound as she was hit.

"ASMMMI!" Korra cried out, looking over at her friend before clenching up her fists tightly and swinging herself at Mokusho as best as she could. "GRRRMMMMPH! MMMMGGGGH! MMMMMMNNPH! MMMMPHHH!"

Asami was quick to give Korra a reassuring look. Mokusho really wasn't that strong, and the cloth gag had softened the blow even further.

 _Korra, I'm fine, I've taken harder hits from you in sparring practice._ Asami even smiled under her gag, and seeing Asami's expression, Korra let out a quiet sigh of relief and smiled back. _It was totally worth it anyway, I think her nose is broken._

Mokusho's nose wasn't broken, but it was definitely bleeding, and if she wasn't going to punish the two women before, she was definitely going to now. She took out her shock baton, and when Korra and Asami eyed it, their faces both took on worried expressions. Mokusho smiled.

"There, remember who's in charge here now?" Mokusho wiped the last of the blood from her nose and held the baton, preparing to use it on both of her captives. "Now, I could just beat the stuffing out of you...or I could shock you both until you can't even feel it..."

Korra and Asami looked at each other and tried to swallow back their fear. If they were intimidated, they weren't going to show it. Their eyes met, and they gave each other as much strength as they could, nodding to one another before giving Mokusho the steeliest expressions they could muster up.

 _Do your worst,_ thought Korra. _...but hopefully to me and not to Asami._

Asami had similar feelings, her concern for Korra causing her to wish that whatever Mokusho did, she got the worst of it and not Korra. In fact, that was one of the reasons she'd headbutted her.

 _I'm the one who busted up your face, if you want payback, it's me you want to hit. Leave Korra out of this...you're already planning on taking her bending. You coward._

"But if I beat up on you, there's a chance one of you might pass out, and I don't want that...so how to maximize your discomfort and humiliation without causing either of you to miss any of the fun? Fortunately, I have a solution. This was my own invention."

Mokusho turned down the voltage on the shock baton, calibrating it to a low but still potent level. The baton barely hummed now, but was still live with electricity. Then she eyed both of her captives' bare feet, her eyes glancing them up and down.

"Get ready," she said, before placing the tip of the baton up against Korra's sole, between her heel and the strip of material from her pants. Korra's eyes instantly went from a narrow death glare to a wide look of shock, and then snapped shut tightly as waves of convulsing sensations went up her feet and into her entire body.

"Mmmmmm!...mmhmm...hhhmmhmm...HHHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMMMMPHH!" Korra was instantly overtaken by the urge to laugh uncontrollably. She couldn't help it, the tickling from the baton was worse than hundreds of Ikki's fluttering fingers during her most diabolical tickle torture sessions during one of Korra's numerous stints babysitting the airbender children. "HMHMHMHMMHPHMHMHMHPHMMMHMHMHMMMMMHHHMMMMM!"

"Oh, that tickles does it? Well how about here?"

Mokusho touched the baton to Korra's foot again, this time up near her toes. The laughter was loud and instantaneous.

"MMMMMMMMMMPHHHMMMMMPHHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMMMM! MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMPHHHHMHMHMHMHMHMMMMMMPHHMMMM!"

Asami looked on in disbelief and a bit of horror as Korra's body involuntarily convulsed against her tight bindings. The Avatar was gripped in all-consuming laughter. Her ribs and chest heaved as the urge to laugh overwhelmed all of her senses.

 _I've never been tickled this much in my entire life! It hurts...ohhhh it hurts!_ Korra screamed into her gag between bouts of laughter as her poor ribs ached and burned from all the laughing she was doing. She was sent into complete hysterics, tears streaming down her face as the tickling sensations increased every time that baton was brought up against her helpless soles. _STOP IT!_

Mokusho kept at it with the baton, first one foot and then the other, testing to see where Korra's most ticklish spot was located. Korra couldn't even cross her feet to block the tickling because of her tied big toes. She was left completely helpless and vulnerable, while Asami watched, helpless to assist her friend in any way.

"STMMMPH MMMT, YRRR TMMRTRMMNG HMMR!" Asami protested, renewing her struggles to no avail. _Hang in there, Korra...! I have to get out of this...!"_

But try as she might, Asami was unable to stop the tickle torture to her friend Korra's feet. Mokusho laughed, knowing that by hurting Korra, she was punishing Asami far more than she could simply by beating on her. Asami clearly cared dearly for Korra. The two weren't just friends, they were clearly close friends and probably best friends, and Mokusho took full advantage of this to continue tormenting her by tickle torturing Korra with the baton.

"You want me to stop? We haven't even started!"

Mokusho zapped Korra's feet with the baton again. By now, Korra could barely breathe. She continued to fight against the ropes and against her own body's impulses, but the tickling had gotten so severe that even though she knew she was hurting herself with all the struggling she was doing, she was unable to stop. Korra had worked up a serious sweat in her struggles as well, so much so that it was starting to pool underneath her, mixing with the tears that were racing down her face.

"MMMPHHH MMMMNMMM MMMMHHHHH! MHMHMHMHMHMMHMHMHPH! MHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMHHHMMMHMMMMHMHMHMHMPH!"

Not only was Korra hurting herself in her struggling, but she was rapidly becoming exhausted as well. It was getting harder and harder for her to catch her breath, and she knew that the longer she stayed tied up, the more her limbs would start to get stiff and numb as well. Even if her bending by some miracle came back, Korra would have difficulty bringing it to bear against the skilled Mokusho and her dangerous weapons.

The tickle torture continued for a few minutes more, Korra continuing to laugh in agony while Asami watched helplessly, unable to do anything but witness her friend's suffering. Finally, mercifully, Mokusho stopped, giving the Avatar a chance to catch her breath. Her entire body was drenched in sweat, and she lacked the energy or oxygen to do anything but give a few soft grunts into her gag. Asami wished she could do something to comfort her friend Korra, but barely had time to contemplate their situation before their captor had walked over to her.

"It's your turn," said Mokusho.

"Nmm...nmm!" Korra cried out through her gag, shaking her head with what little energy she was able to gather up. _Don't you dare...! Asami...I'm sorry! Mokusho, don't you DARE hurt her!_

 _You wouldn't be doing this if we weren't tied up and gagged._ Asami glared defiantly at Mokusho, enraged at what had been done to her friend.

"Anything to say?"

"Cmmwrmrd," Asami said through her gag, her eyes looking right up into Mokusho's.

"What did you say?" Mokusho replied, lowering Asami's gag. The instant Asami's mouth was free, she spit as much as she could right up onto Mokusho's face. "Aaaaaagh!"

"COWARD!" Asami screamed before the gag was raised back up. Mokusho was about to slap Asami again, but knew that she could do far worse, and readied the baton.

"Nmm-mm, NMM-MM!" Korra cried out, shaking her head rapidly. She knew what that baton was capable of and she didn't want it visited upon Asami. _Asami, why'd you have to provoke her...?_

The instant the baton hit Asami's soles, the Sato heiress let out a scream and then loud, muffled laughter, even louder than Korra had laughed before.

"MMMMMMM! MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH MMMMMMMMMMMMHHMHMHMHMHMHMMMMMMMMMPHHH!"

Asami's tender soles were no match for the baton, which sent waves of tickling sensations all the way up and down Asami's body. She also began to shake against the ropes, which held her limber limbs tightly, preventing any possibility of escape. Another touch of the baton made Asami struggle even harder, and her screams turned into banshee-like shrieks.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHHMHMHMHMHMHMMHFFFFFMFFFFFNNNGGGGHHHMMMHHH! MMMMMMMMMMMMPHHHHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHM! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"

Korra winced every time she heard Asami scream, every time she heard the ropes jerk and hold fast against Asami's struggles. She protested loudly into her gag for Mokusho to stop, but her cries fell on deaf ears, and indeed could barely be heard anyway against the sounds of Asami's laughter. Mokusho kept at it, leaving no spot on Asami's bare toes and soles untouched, zapping her more than a dozen times, even more than Korra had received.

"Am I a coward now? Am I pathetic now? No wonder Sato prefers me to you, he always did and he always will!"

Asami wanted to protest, even with the gag on she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that Mokusho was wrong. But the laughter from the constant tickling sensations made it impossible, the involuntary noises rocketing up her throat overwhelming even her desires to spit hateful and furious words at her sadistic captor. But Korra could see Asami's fury, even through her closed eyes, sweat drenched forehead, and bright red cheeks. If not for the ropes, Asami would have given Mokusho the beating of her life...and so would Korra.

 _Asami...this is all my fault, everything you're suffering right now is because I let you come along! All of this is on me and I am so, SO sorry...!_ Korra's mind was racing with anger and regret as she watched her friend suffer. Every bone in her body, every neuron in her mind was directing itself with fury toward the single, sole purpose of punishing Mokusho for what she'd done. As soon as Korra felt that she had some of her strength back, she was using it to struggle against the ropes, thinking that perhaps with all the sweat she'd built up, she could slip out of them...but to no avail. _Dammit, come on!_

Meanwhile, Asami felt the pain in her back and her chest and her ribs and her limbs as she laughed and shrieked and strained. The harsh tickling was stimulating every nerve ending and she was jolted along for the ride, while the ropes kept her from moving, locking her body in a cage that she felt herself constantly ramming up against as she struggled. But there was a small mercy to her predicament that Korra didn't share. Asami, though an extremely fit and highly trained fighter, didn't have quite the musculature in her body that Korra did. Board meetings, paperwork, racing, all sedentary activities that kept her from ever being quite as physically strong as Korra was...and with less muscle to strain, Asami wasn't in nearly as much pain as Korra was. Indeed, Asami found herself able to conserve energy...what little good it did. Another round of tickling, another loud shriek of laughter. Asami was hurting...but she kept her wits about her nonetheless.

 _I can endure this...I WILL endure this. Korra needs me._

The tickling stopped. Mokusho had been at it several minutes longer than she had been with Korra, and Asami too was drenched in sweat and struggling to catch her breath. Mokusho stepped back and observed her captives. She could give them another round...but she was also eager to complete her work.

"I think I'll let you hang out here and think about what you've done," said Mokusho, putting her shock baton away. "Hmm...although I could leave some of my fellow Equalists here...a few of the guys here have been quite vocal about their desires to have some _real_ fun. And I can't say you both haven't earned it."

Mokusho walked over to Asami and took out a knife, placing it down next to Asami's collar and acting as if she might start cutting down the center of Asami's shirt with it. Asami recoiled, while Korra immediately reacted with a fury unlike any yet seen by her captors.

"LMMMVE HMMRR ALMMNNPH!" Korra screamed through her gag, her fists clenched so hard her knuckles turned white. She began thrashing against the ropes again, not caring about the burning sensation in her lower back as she fought. "MMLL KMLL YMM MFF YMM TMMCH HRR!"

Korra's screaming was so loud and fierce that Mokusho could actually understand a few of Korra's muffled words.

"Kill me?" Mokusho said, turning toward Korra and smiling. "Oh, but the Avatar doesn't kill."

"MM MMNN MMT!" Korra shouted. _Aang doesn't kill...and because of what happened with Unalaq, I can't hear him talking to me anymore...but I'd kill you anyway. If you even THOUGHT of having your men do that to Asami, I'd kill you and I'd kill all of them! I SWEAR IT!_

Asami had never seen Korra in such a rage before, and for a moment, she thought Korra might enter the Avatar State...but the bracelet around her wrist kept even the Avatar's most powerful technique completely sealed. Mokusho scoffed mockingly at Korra and put the knife away.

"Relax..." said Mokusho. "I hate your guts but I'm not a monster and neither are my subordinates. You simply represent the biggest problem in the world...bending. And your friend Asami is a traitor to all those who have been tormented and subjugated by benders. She's chosen to serve you as a slave rather than assist in her own liberation. It's sad...perhaps we'll have to kill her after we're done removing your bending. She deserves it for what she's done to her own father."

"MM HMTE YMM TMM!" Korra screamed, still furious about Mokusho's cruel joke and just as furious about her latest intentions. _I won't let you hurt Asami! I'll get out of this and stop you!_

 _A slave to Korra? How could she even think that? Korra is my friend... I help her because I care about her and all the good she does! Because it's the right thing to do!_ Asami blinked. If this situation wasn't dire before, it had just gotten worse. _I have to get us out...or at least Korra...somehow!_

"GRRRMMPH! MMMMPHH!" Korra continued to scream at Mokusho as she and her Equalist entourage exited the room. As soon as Mokusho was gone, Korra's struggles resumed with renewed fury, but now her grunts of frustration and exasperation were mixed in with groans of pain, the soreness from the tickling still lingering. No amount of pain could stop Korra from trying to escape, but Asami saw that none of the ropes were budging and tried to get Korra to stop her futile efforts.

"Kmmrra, hmld mmn!" Asami called to her.

"Nmm!" Korra shouted, looking over at Asami and shaking her head. _No! Asami, I got us into this and I'll get us out, just hold on and I can...!_

Korra's body twisted and tugged, the ropes holding her in place during all of her efforts. It was clear to Asami that Korra could put in nowhere near the amount of effort that she'd been able to before Mokusho's flurry of tickling. Before, Korra could move around about two feet in any direction. Now, maybe she was moving ten or so inches at best. She just didn't have the strength or energy to get out, and she risked injuring herself with every second she tried.

"STMMP!" Asami yelled to Korra, cursing her gag for preventing any chance of explaining to her friend why her efforts were pointless. "YMM CMNT GMT FRMMPH!"

"YMMS MMM CMMN!" Korra screamed back, rearing back her head as she flailed and thrashed. She wasn't going to take no for an answer, not even from her best friend, and kept fighting against the ropes despite her own body telling her to stop. She screamed and cursed and grunted and yelled and fought, while Asami began to quietly struggle, not using brute strength but instead trying to use her intelligence and cleverness to find a way out of her predicament.

 _I can't break the ropes but maybe there's a way to slip out of them..._

But for all Asami's efforts, she found that the more she fought, the more the ropes tightened up, almost like the old finger trap toy she used to have as a child. She tried the same trick with these ropes as she had used to escape the finger trap, moving her wrists inward in the hopes that the ropes would loosen up...but to no avail. Meanwhile, she could hear Korra let out another scream, and this one definitely sounded painful.

"KORRRMMMNNH!" Asami's eyes were wide with concern, watching as Korra kept fighting, even as a look of pain was clearly evident on her face. One of Korra's eyes were closed and she seemed to be trying to avoid straining her back too much. _Korra, I think you've hurt yourself, you need to stop right now!_

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPHHHH!" Korra didn't care. Of course she didn't. She was the Avatar, it was her job to protect people, even if she had to give up her own life to do so. A pulled muscle didn't change that. And this was Asami, her best friend, who might be in danger of being killed if she didn't escape. So stopping was out of the question. Giving up was out of the question. She kept fighting. "MMMMMMMPHH MMMMMPH!"

 _Korra, I mean it!_ Now Asami was starting to get angry with Korra. The frustration with everything...not being able to escape, being taunted by that woman who clearly knew _nothing_ about how deeply she and her father, despite their strained relationship, still cared for each other...it was beginning to boil over. And now Korra was trying to protect her...again. _Stop trying to get free! Stop trying to protect me! I mean it...stop!_

Asami rocked herself in the ropes. Being a bit lighter and more limber than Korra, she found that she could sway herself back and forth somewhat more...in fact, she could almost move herself the entire distance between herself and Korra. So she began to swing, from side to side as hard as she could. If words didn't work, maybe physical contact would.

"Hmmm...hmmmph...hmmnnn...!" Asami groaned as she rocked, and her ropes creaked audibly. Korra soon noticed how close Asami was getting to coming into contact with her, and this did bring her struggles to a stop for a moment. _Almost...!_

Asami slammed into Korra. It wasn't very hard, but it forced Korra to turn her head to look at her, and Korra could see the angry expression on Asami's face.

"LMMSTMN TMM MMPH!" Asami yelled, glaring hard at Korra. Korra couldn't make out Asami's words, but seeing how angry her friend was did get her attention and she kept her eyes fixed on Asami's face.

"Whmmt?!" Korra's expression was half-angry, half quizzical. Asami sighed and gestured toward her own ropes. _Asami, you can't escape either..._

Asami tugged and strained her wrists and hands as best she could. She couldn't move them much, but Korra could see that Asami had a bit more slack than her, and a lot more energy. Korra tried to struggle again, but her own ropes didn't budge at all.

"Trmst mmph," Asami said. Korra couldn't understand Asami's words, but Asami's eyes were saying the same thing, and Korra could read those just fine.

"Bmmt..." Korra gave Asami a protesting look. _Asami, I have to do this! I'm the Avatar! It's my job to protect you!_

Asami just shook her head. Korra narrowed her eyes.

 _Yes, I do!_ Korra thought. Asami kept shaking her head, and didn't stop. Every time Korra tried to struggle, Asami would narrow her eyes even more and shake her head even faster.

Both of them were frustrated. Both of them wanted to argue, to articulate their points. Korra wanted to tell Asami that this wasn't Asami's problem, that it was the Avatar's problem, that Korra needed to be the one to get them both out of this. And Asami wanted to tell Korra that she had to let her friends help her, that she didn't need to be protected all the time, or even most of the time. But with the gags tight across their mouths, they had to argue with their eyes. The two of them blushed a bit as they kept gesturing and trying to get their points across. Asami's expression softened as Korra seemed to be dropping her resistance. It was then that Korra let out a loud yell and arched her back, her fists clenched tightly.

"GRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMPHHHH!" Korra screamed at the top of her lungs, the frustration overwhelming her. _I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE BEING HELPLESS I HATE BEING TIED UP I HATE BEING GAGGED I HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO SAVE MY BEST FRIEND I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS!_

Korra's body slumped. Her head bowed, and a tear slid down her face. She let out a single sob.

 _Korra...you're the strongest person I've ever known. This doesn't make you weak._ That's what Asami wanted to say to Korra. Instead, she swung herself again, until she was close enough to stroke her cheek across Korra's. This made Korra lift up her head, and Asami gave her the best encouraging look that she could. _Just trust me this one time._

Korra and Asami's eyes met, and as soon as Asami had stopped swinging, she began to work at the ropes again. Korra watched, allowing herself to trust Asami, while starting to feel her heart beat a bit faster. It was a race against time.

 _Asami...if you can't get out of this, you're dead. I don't care about my bending, you're gambling with your own life here._

Korra felt multiple pangs of guilt. At first, it was guilt over getting Asami into this situation. Then it was guilt over what she was thinking to herself.

 _...of course Asami knows that. She knows she's gambling with her own life. And if I trust her, I should let her. What does she think of me now? Does she...think I'm a jerk for thinking less of her?_

Asami saw the look of doubt on Korra's face and gave her a reassuring giggle. Korra looked a bit surprised at this and blinked. Asami could see her blushing.

 _You okay, Korra?_ Asami continued to struggle. To her amazement, she'd worked a bit more slack into the wrist ropes. She kept going, all the while looking at Korra to calm herself down. She too blushed again. _She looks..._

It was quiet. They could attempt conversation. They did attempt conversation. They could understand each other's names, but little else.

"Hmm mmbmt wmm tmmll jmkes tmm pmms thmm tmm?" Korra asked, offering to tell some jokes.

"Hmm?"

Korra tried to tell a joke, a fairly long one, but Asami barely understood any of it. At seeing Asami's quizzical expression, Korra burst out laughing...and Asami started to laugh as well. It was funnier than if Asami had actually been able to understand the joke.

Asami felt even more slack in the ropes. She could slide one of her arms a bit more, almost a full inch now. She knew that in order to get free, all she had to do was get just one of her arms out of the ropes and she could get the other arm out. Their captors had only tied their wrists, the rest of their upper body could move freely. While Asami tried to make more progress, Korra looked on...and now she could feel herself blushing, her entire face felt warm. Was it just her body temperature having gone up from all the struggling she'd been doing? She looked Asami up and down, her body bound so intricately...she stole a few glances at Asami's feet, which looked so soft and shapely, the toe tie keeping them taut and flexed...

 _She looks...kind of hot like that..._ thought Korra, before instantly shaking her head and dispelling the thought from her mind. _Korra, she's bound and gagged and in danger, what the hell are you thinking?!_

Asami then noticed Korra looking over at her, or at least the flustered look on her face.

 _She's cute when she's all worked up like that... wait no...!_ Asami blushed and looked away. _Come on Asami, focus...!_

Korra stole another look, despite herself.

 _...okay, she's beautiful. But not because she's tied up! ...wait a second..._

Korra thought back to Asami's 'research' on rope techniques.

 _No, of course not! Asami's not...like that, is she?_

Korra looked to see Asami staring at her feet and blushing intensely.

 _Mmm, they ARE really fit...they look so cute when they flex like that...and they look so well groomed...so she HAS been taking my advice about foot hygiene seriously!_ Asami's thoughts were interrupted by a quizzical yelp from Korra, which snapped her again out of her distraction. "Mmm! Smmry..."

 _You think my feet are cute, don't you?_ Korra gave Asami a sly look, and began to wiggle her toes a bit, teasing her friend. Asami's eyes went wide and her blush intensified. She tried to look away, but she couldn't take her eyes off Korra's wiggling toes, and Korra was enjoying the attention. Her soles, slick with sweat, were shimmering a bit in the dim light of the room, and Asami's legs began to clench together a bit, though Korra didn't notice this. _You can look all you want, Asami, it's okay..._

It wasn't just Korra's feet that caught Asami's eyes, but her athletic, curvy body as well, and Asami couldn't help but take in every last inch of it, which Korra also noticed. She'd definitely been eyed up by boys before, but never by her best friend, and she found herself blushing as bright and as red as Asami.

… _! Korra, I am SO sorry!_ When Asami realized what she was doing, she immediately stopped and looked away. 

"Mms okmmph..." Korra reassured her. "...yrr cmte tmm, ymm kmnw?"

"Hmm?" Asami blinked, and could see Korra fighting the urge to eyeball her too. Asami gave her a nod. _Korra...I'm flattered actually..._

With a very sheepish look, Korra's eyes went back to Asami's feet, looking pale and delicate hanging up in the air like they were. Asami wiggled her toes as playfully as Korra had done before, and Korra felt a very quiet moan escape from behind her gag.

 _She's...beautiful..._ thought Korra, almost hypnotized by how beautiful Asami's sleek feet and wiggling toes were looking at that moment. She almost wished she was free so she could tickle them...much more gently and playfully than Mokusho had done. _And they look so clean, too...I bet she uses that really expensive soap on them...I know she gave me some to use and my feet stayed clean even after a serious workout...!_

Korra eyed Asami up and down while Asami continued to work at the ropes. In her struggles, Asami gave off the appearance of restrained, elegant fury...a beautiful warrior princess you didn't want to mess with.

 _She's the most beautiful girl in the world and she doesn't even know it. She doesn't even try... I don't even know how she does it._ Korra kept watching Asami work, her body occasionally jerking back and forth in the tight suspension she was in. Even covered up by her outfit, Korra could see the curves and contours of Asami's body. _No wonder Mako couldn't stay away from her... I... I'm not sure I could if I was him either._

The both of them were blushing now, exchanging sheepish looks. Before either of them could think anything else on it, Asami resumed her efforts to slip free. Her arm now had two inches of slack...she could feel the ropes starting to give. She looked over at Korra, who had her head bowed again.

 _She's so beautiful and smart and brave... and here I am doing absolutely nothing to help her. I know she doesn't NEED my help, but surely there's something I can do to get us both out of this!_

Korra looked back up at Asami, trying to get her attention.

"Asmmi? Asmmph...Smmnh? Asamphi?"

Asami looked at Korra and smiled.

"Mm...smmrry. Mm shmmld hvv trmsted ymm frmm thm smmtrmt..."

"Kmmra...ymmr thmm Ammphtmr... prrmmttmctmng ppmmple mms kmnd mmf yrr jmb... smm.. mm kmnw yrr wmmnt stmp trmmynng mmvn mmf mm dmnt wmnt ymm tmm wmmry abmmt mmt..."

"...hmm?" Korra couldn't understand a word of what Asami had just told her. Asami just laughed, and then Korra started laughing as well. The two women exchanged a few seconds of very happy, very friendly laughter.

Then Asami reached a free hand out of her ropes and pulled down her own gag.

"I said, 'Korra, you're the Avatar. Protecting people is kind of your job, so...I know you won't stop trying even if I don't want you to worry about it.'"

"Assmmi, ymmrr frrmeee!" Korra's face gave an overjoyed expression. Asami smiled.

"Not quite," said Asami, "and this next part is a bit tricky so just hold on tight..."

Asami took the suspension rope that had been tied around her previously bound wrist and connected it to the ropes tied around her ankles, so that once she got her other wrist free she wouldn't be dangling by her big toes and risking injuring them. She then undid the ropes hogtying her wrist to her ankles before next undoing the suspension rope around her other wrist, completely freeing both hands and leaving her suspended only by the ankle ropes, with the toe tie rope being largely redundant. She then bent her flexible body upward, undoing her toe tie and then undoing the ropes around her ankles, leaving her to fall harmlessly to the floor with a soft grunt.

"Whew..." breathed Asami, walking over to Korra next. "Now I'll get you."

Freeing Korra was much less complicated, as all Asami had to do was repeat the steps she'd done with her own ropes, though this time she had two free hands the whole time. Once Korra was free, she too landed harmlessly on the ground, and Asami let her remove her own gag as she got back to her feet.

"How are you feeling...?" asked Asami.

"My back hurts," groaned Korra, who began to rub her own back only for Asami to start rubbing it for her. "Oh, um...thanks."

"Stretch out your limbs and get some feeling back in them, I have a feeling we're going to have to fight once we get back upstairs... we are going to finish this, right?"

"I'm gonna beat Mokusho black and blue," said Korra, rubbing her wrists and then clenching her fists tightly.

"Save some for me," said Asami. She and Korra started to leave, but before they did, Asami reached forward and took Korra's arm. "Wait."

Korra turned around, and felt Asami wrap her up in a tight embrace.

"I...I really was worried, you know," said Asami, trying to fight off the urge to get even more emotional. "She could've done anything she wanted to us..."

"I know," Korra replied, returning the hug and rubbing her face in Asami's shoulder. "...thanks for being there for me." 

"I'm glad to be here," said Asami. "...I guess we'll have to fight her without our boots."

"Or my bending," Korra replied. "But we don't have a choice. Let's go."

O-O-O

Elsewhere in the basement, Mokusho worked in her lab, holding up a test tube containing the anti-bending chemical.

"Time to test it on the Avatar herself..." said Mokusho, taking a syringe and filling it with liquid from the tube. As Mokusho walked toward the door, she heard a commotion outside. "No way... there's no way!"

Mokusho was in disbelief that the Avatar and her friend had escaped their predicament. Maybe the Metalbending police had shown up instead?

"Whoever it is, I'll deal with them..." Mokusho took out her shock baton and opened the door, standing at the ready. When she looked out into the room, she saw her two lieutenants, the ones who'd accompanied her when she'd confronted Korra and Asami, tied back to back to a pole with the same ropes and gagged with the same green cloths that had been used on the two heroines before. "Damn!"

Mokusho entered the room, ready to be jumped. Korra leapt down at her, and when Mokusho swung the shock baton at her, Korra grabbed Mokusho by the wrists, blocking it from hitting her. Asami rushed at Mokusho from another direction and received a kick to the chest that knocked her back.

"You can't beat me, Amon trained me himself!" shouted Mokusho, swinging the baton at Korra again, who ducked under it and tackled her hard enough to knock the baton fron her hands. "NNNGH!"

"But this time you're the one who's outnumbered!" said Korra.

"Not for long...!" replied Mokusho, struggling as Korra kept her pinned. "HEL-MMMMPHH!"

Korra clasped a tight handgag over Mokusho's mouth while using her other arm to keep her pinned down.

"Asami, are you okay?" Korra shouted as her friend struggled to recover from the fierce kick.

"HMMMNGH!" Mokusho grunted, trying to extricate herself from Korra's sweaty hand. _Oh that's disgusting...!_

Mokusho couldn't get her mouth free, but she did get her arm free, and grabbed the one weapon she had left on her...the syringe with the anti-bending chemical. Mokusho held up the syringe and prepared to jab it into Korra, who had all of her attention focused on keeping Mokusho silenced.

"Hmhmhm...!" Mokusho laughed under Korra's hand. Korra's eyes went to the syringe and she gasped, but Mokusho was already jabbing it down at her.

"NO!" Korra screamed.

Suddenly, the shock baton, swung by Asami, came down hard on the syringe, shattering it and causing the chemical to spill harmlessly on the floor and on Mokusho's hand. The baton was also set on full strength, and the powerful jolt zapped Mokusho into instant unconsciousness, enabling Korra to get off of her fallen foe.

"Whew...that was too close," Korra breathed, her hand to her chest. She looked up at Asami, who had an equally relieved expression on her face. "Nice one."

After leaving Mokusho bound and gagged similarly to her subordinates, Korra and Asami made their way back up through the building, taking out the Equalists one by one. They found the key to unlock the Bending Neutralizer in Mokusho's room on the top floor, and found their boots being worn by a pair of Mokusho's female thugs, who got a few zaps to their feet from the shock baton's tickle function as punishment for the theft. After all the criminals were successfully subdued, the two made their way back out to Asami's Satomobile to call in the successful mission so that Lin's Metalbending police could bring all the captured criminals in.

"They're all here tied up and ready to go to jail, Chief Beifong," said Korra over the car's radio.

"Thank you for all your help, Korra, and you too, Asami. Was it a difficult job?"

"Er...there were some snags, but nothing the two of us working together couldn't handle," said Korra.

"We'll be there shortly, you can head back home as soon as we get there."

"Sounds good."

O-O-O

Mokusho's eyes were furious over her gag as Lin Beifong personally dragged her into the police station in Republic City.

"Aside from kidnapping the Avatar AND the president of Future Industries, we've got you and your little group on fifteen counts of assault and battery against benders all over the city. Do you have anything to say for yourself or should I keep that gag on until I stop feeling my STRONG desire to let you starve?"

Lin pulled the cloth down from Mokusho's face.

"You people are so stupid. You think benders are good, you think they help people, but you have no IDEA what's coming. The spirit portals have opened up, and soon you'll be facing a threat like nothing you've ever faced before. And then you'll wish you'd have let Amon and the rest of us complete our work! A red star is about to fall and soon your streets will be stained red with- grrmff!"

Lin raised the gag back up over Mokusho's mouth and shoved her into a holding cell.

"Yeah, I knew that was a mistake. Make sure she stays gagged for a good long while. I have a headache..."

Lin groaned and rubbed her temples while Mokusho stewed furiously in her cell. Thinking about the tribulations to come for the people of Republic City, a smile formed on her lips under her gag.

 _Once the Airbenders start showing up again, don't say I didn't warn you..._

O-O-O

Asami drove down a long road through the city. It was part midnight now, and she and Korra, despite their exhaustion, enjoyed the lights of the city as the Satomobile made its way down a long street lined with tall buildings.

"You want me to drop you off back at Airbender Island, right?"

"Actually...think I could stay at your place tonight, Asami?" asked Korra. "After what we've been through, I think I'd feel a bit better if I stayed with you...if that's okay."

"Of course it is, you can stay with me any time you want, Korra," said Asami, smiling. "And to tell you the truth, I...I do feel a little bit safer when I'm with you."

"Mmm, I thought you didn't need me protecting you all the time." Korra smiled, leaning back in her seat. Her face was still slick with sweat, and the cool night breeze felt really good on her skin.

"Well, I..." Asami blushed, just as she'd done when she was looking at Korra while the two of them were still tied up together. "I guess I don't mind it some of the time."

"...you know what? I think I feel safer when I've got you protecting me too, Asami."

Korra reached over and took Asami's hand, squeezing it gently. Asami looked over at her and smiled, glad to have her best friend at her side. Neither of them knew it yet, or maybe neither of them were willing to admit it, but that night was the beginning of a connection that would only grow stronger as their adventures together continued...

 **THE END**


End file.
